nedchester
Established Member
- Joined
- 28 May 2008
- Messages
- 2,093
I genuinely am beginning to worry about the impact of the measures that we've taken. I really can't see how we can operate any form of functional society when social distancing restrictions are in place. It is going to be nigh on impossible to get certain industries through this crisis, including transport, tourism, hospitality etc, if we insist on enforcing social distancing for the next few years. Whilst I am aware that, initially, this was a necessary precaution required to not overwhelm the NHS during the peak of the crisis, now that we seem past that stage, it's time to consider how to get society running again and allow us to get back to a more sensible way of life than the draconian existence we are facing at present. The first logical step would be, on June 1st, easing the requirement down to 1m and stop the aggressive messaging which has over-inflated the risk that most people are perceiving. Beyond the next 2 months though, we need to look at alternatives to enforcing nationwide social distancing, as this will make the recovery of the economy and protecting our way of life much more difficult than it needs to be.
Whilst the last thing I would ever wish to impose would be discrimination on ableist grounds, we need to accept that, aside from the vulnerable and elderly, the risk this virus poses to the vast majority of the population is minimal. Of course it is necessary to ensure that we don't change in such a way that risks overwhelming the health board but, in my opinion, we need to advise the vulnerable and elderly that they are indeed at risk of serious illness and that the safest thing for them to do would be to socially distance themselves from others. Aside from advising this group of the risks they face if they choose to ignore this advice, I see it as almost inevitable that social distancing can't last into the long term for the rest of society, as the difficulties faced with reopening the economy and protecting our way of life would, how I see it, far outweigh the risks from the virus spreading amongst the healthy, younger portion of the population who are facing increasing worries over their futures, careers and mental health due to the current approach to the crisis.
Spot on. We as a society cannot go on forever like this for not only economic reasons but social reasons.
If the most vulnerable are shielded (and yes there are a number of them which are in work) then it should reduce the effect of any second peak in terms of NHS load.
I reckon that by the summer July the authorities can try and enforce social distancing (remember it's not in law) but people will not be willing to do it. They want to live normally. You can call that selfish but I am talking about human nature here. This is not just on trains but in many other settings.